Tuesday, August 2, 2011

ant, aunt, aunty, auntie, anti, ante

Ant or ant is a small insect that lives in an underground ant city--
Don't leave your sandwich on the ground. The ants will get it.
An ant is creeping toward the picnic basket.

Aunt or aunt is used to refer to or address your father's sister; your mother's sister; your father's brother's wife or your mother's brother's wife--
I have seven aunts and three uncles.
Aunt begins with a capital ( large) letter when it is used as part of a proper ( particular person's ) name--
Is Aunt Betty coming to visit?
Betty is my aunt.
This is my Aunt Betty.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"My aunt was afraid of an ant!"

Note--Auntie or aunty refers to your aunt--the same kin or relation described above--
Say hello to Auntie Margaret.
Say hello to your auntie.
Auntie or aunty may also mean a pawnbroker or fence--sometimes called uncle--
I'm out of money; I shall have to visit aunty.

Note # 2--Anti- or anti- means against or opposed to--as  a term for people who are opposed to a certain political measure--
The vivisectionists and the antivivisectionists were having a heated argument.
"Con" more properly refers to the bad points people see in a  political measure--
Let's discuss the pros and cons.

Note # 3--Ante or ante refers to the stake required to participate in a poker game--
The ante is only $1.00.

Note # 4--Ante or ante also means before--
as in antebellum ( before the war--in the USA, the Civil War ),
or antediluvian ( before the flood, as in Noah and the Ark ).
"Status quo ante bellum "is Latin for "the state of things before the war".  When a war ends under terms of "status quo ante bellum", no land is transferred from one country or party to another. Boundaries are the same as they were before the war.

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